3 1/2 STARS

Side Effects (R) - Old school thriller with Rooney Mara, Channing Tatum, Jude Law and Catherine Zeta-Jones

Quartet - Maggie Smith moves into a home for retired musicians. Downton Abbey with music

Silver Linings Playbook (R) - Quirky romance with Bradley Cooper and Jennifer Lawrence

LIfe of Pi - Beautiful story of survival told as fable/allegory

3 STARS

The Incredible Burt Wonderstone - Steve Carrell and a great cast in a comedy about magic

Oz the Great and Powerful - Story before the story of the Wizard of Oz

Beautiful Creatures - Boy meets witch and falls in love. Cool Southern Gothic

Warm Bodies - Hilarious zombie human romance with a hint of Romeo and Juliet

Amour - An elderly couple copes with age ( in French subtitles)

Beasts of the Southern Wild - Creative tale of a little girl and the bayou

2 1/2 STARS

Jack the Giant Slayer - Winning 3D fantasy runs a tad long

Identity Thief - Melissa McCarthy rises above the ususal mismatched buddy road trip

Django Unchained (R) - Jamie Foxx in violent Tarantino extravaganza - Oscar favorite for writing and supporting actor

2 STARS

Snitch - The Rock turns undercover narc

Safe Haven - Nicholas Sparks formula romance

1 STAR

A Good Day to Die Hard (R) Bruce Willis makes it a trifecta of over the hill action stars trying to recreate what used to work but is out of sync today

ZERO

The Call (R) - Halle Berry in Danger